Maps are frequently used for various purposes including for navigation in and around a port, such as an airport, a harbor or the like. With respect to an airport, for example, a pilot may reference a map of the airport in order to determine the configuration of the runways and taxiways and to identify the route to be taken to taxi about the airport, such as between a terminal gate and a respective runway. In order to facilitate review by a pilot prior to and/or during a flight, the map of an airport may be presented upon the flight deck display of the instrument panel of an aircraft. In addition to the graphical depiction of the airport, an airport map may also include one or more rules that govern navigation in or about the airport. For example, the rules may specify the manner in which the various runways or taxiways are to be utilized, such as the direction in which aircraft may move along a runway or taxiway, the maximum speed at which an aircraft may travel along a runway or taxiway, the priority of usage of a runway or taxiway or the like. As such, by referencing an airport map, a pilot may control an aircraft so as to move about the airport in an efficient and safe manner.
In some instances, an airport map may not be as readily understood as desired. For example, different airport maps may represent the same or similar features with different symbology. Thus, a pilot who is unfamiliar with a particular airport may be challenged to quickly interpret a map of the airport if the map utilizes different symbology than that with which the pilot is familiar. Further, aircraft are sometimes diverted during flight so as to land at an airport different than the airport that was the original destination. In these instances, the aircraft may be diverted to an airport with which the pilot is unfamiliar. In the process of diverting to the different airport, the pilot may reference a map of the airport to which the aircraft has been diverted. Due to the unfamiliarity of the pilot with the airport, however, the pilot may struggle to properly interpret and fully appreciate the various features of the airport to which the aircraft has been diverted, particularly while performing the myriad of other tasks required of the pilot during flight. As such, in these instances, pilots generally rely upon their experience, intuition and general aviation knowledge in order to navigate about airports with which they are less familiar. However, the ability of pilots to navigate about unfamiliar airports based upon experience, intuition and general knowledge will obviously vary from airport to airport and from pilot to pilot.